Brake fluid Dark???

Ducati Forum

Help Support Ducati Forum:

apeluv

apeluv

Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
185
Location
St. Louis, MO via Detroit, MI
I was stopped by another Ducatist. He said my brake and clutch fluids were too dark and should be "yellowish" color. I looked at his and they were in fact a "yellowis" color. I think he had an 03 or 04 998s.

Is everyone else's brake and clutch fluids very dark.
 
most of my ducs the clutch fluid always gets dark, the rear brake to a lesser extent and the front brake hardly at all.

Doesn't hurt to flush it at least once a year for peace of mind. I don't recall anyone ever saying that it degrades the function of brake/clutch by being dark.




apeluv said:
I was stopped by another Ducatist. He said my brake and clutch fluids were too dark and should be "yellowish" color. I looked at his and they were in fact a "yellowis" color. I think he had an 03 or 04 998s.

Is everyone else's brake and clutch fluids very dark.
Click to expand...
 
Nope all clear, bled my rear rear Brake yesterday still all clear. I think we should take a poll of what brake fluid everyone is using. I'm curious to know why some are turning black. Could it be the Shell Ducati recommends?

I use Castrol dot 4 synthetic
 
ScrapperX said:
Nope all clear, bled my rear rear Brake yesterday still all clear. I think we should take a poll of what brake fluid everyone is using. I'm curious to know why some are turning black. Could it be the Shell Ducati recommends?

I use Castrol dot 4 synthetic
Click to expand...

Probably,
My just checked my brothers 848evo. His rear brake is black as.
The front is dark, but not black.
Same for the clutch.

Mine, jet black at the rear and the fronts are much darker than his.

My 848SF had no issues, though I've no idea actually what the fuilds are.
 
For whatever reason, the clutch and brake fluids on my Pani get darker than on any of the bikes/cars I've ever had in the past. (My 1199 burns through clutch fluid in 3 months faster than my race car would in 3 seasons.)

It should look like canola oil, unless you're using ATE Blue. If it looks like dark sesame oil, time to flush. It's a 5 minute job and requires no special tools, so there's no excuse for not knowing how to do it.
 
My rear brake fluid is black. With the location of the rear reservoir being right next to the engine, I'm not at all surprised.
 
I heard that when it gets dark like that its because of heat. Idk if it looses it function when it gets too dark like your clutch or brakes may fail but flush it out for piece of mind.
 
Just ordered a mityvac. Gonna take care of this straight up. Probably go with Motul
 
I dont think its heat related... seen unused Ducatis on the showroom floor showing early signs of discolouration... Its something in the system that Ducati uses... Been happening for yrs...
 
I think your right. I remember now when I bought My bike it was in the show room with others and they all seemed to have this dark fluid. I traded in my kawi and my kawi never had this and I put miles on that thing. Is it ok if it's dark or no???
 
We kicked this around a while back and never got anywhere really. You can pick up a brake fluid tester on Amazon for about $20 if you are really curious if the fluid is good, but I decided to just ignore it and change it at regular intervals. Mine went dark (esp the rear brake) in like 300-400 miles so if I were obsessed with it looking like canola oil I'd be changing it all the time since I ride my bike a lot.

I think I'll put a reservoir sock over it and ignore it. :)
 
Jimmytwotimez said:
I think your right. I remember now when I bought My bike it was in the show room with others and they all seemed to have this dark fluid. I traded in my kawi and my kawi never had this and I put miles on that thing. Is it ok if it's dark or no???
Click to expand...

As best as anyone knows the colour change has no effect on its performance/functionality... but man does it look ugly... and unlike some I cannot bring myself to put socks on the reservoir...:cool:
 
Yes it does. I have a 2017 1299 and I flushed my clutch fluid out 3 weeks ago and it's already dark (black) again. Way too fast. I did this three weeks prior with a cheap dot 4 brake fluid. the second time I used the more expensive Motul, but again same thing. WHY????
Also, I was reading Ducati may have some kind of recall on the clutch reservoir or somewhere on the piston itself??? I need to call them.

Because when it's dark like that it's almost impossible to shift and definitely almost impossible to get into neutral. The first time I bled the system there was a lot of air at the top bleed point, but I don't know how air got there cause I never opened up the system. This was a new bike and never worked on.
 
Mine turns dark after a few thousand miles. Never tracked and I use it as a daily comuter so mostly freeway miles. I just flush and add the new fluids when they turn color.
 
It's fine when it goes black, the black tubing from the res to the master is leaching its color into the fluid. Just change it once a year or so. If you want it to stay clean change the tubing to 2375 tygon tubing. It's 6.35mm ID if I remember right.
 
Capt CF said:
You can pick up a brake fluid tester on Amazon for about $20 if you are really curious if the fluid is good, but I decided to just ignore it and change it at regular intervals.
Click to expand...

I know this is an old post but just in case anyone decides to buy one of these testers, they only test for water contamination. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it will readily and easily absorb water from the atmosphere. More water content in you BF = lower boiling point. That's all the tester is good for. This is also why you should buy the size of bottle of brake fluid you need. If you use half a bottle and put the cap on without an air tight seal and go to use it 6 months down the road, odds are there's water in it. I put my bottles in one of those fancy Lexan Tupperware things that you can hook your vacuum sealer up to along with some silica desiccant to absorb any residual moisture. I don't have a vacuum sealer though so I use my AC evacuation pump to pull around -6"Hg. Anyway hope this helps someone in the future. As an after thought: if you really want to know how you BF is doing, you could send a sample in to a lab to be tested. I send most of the fluids on my vehicles to Blackstone once a year to make sure metal wear levels are acceptable. Only about $30 a sample.
 
I replaced all fluids with Motul RBF six sixty, I hated the way the rear went black, it did not impedance performance I will say.
With the new Motul no colour change despite high temps.
 
Captain Greg said:
I replaced all fluids with Motul RBF six sixty, I hated the way the rear went black, it did not impedance performance I will say.
With the new Motul no colour change despite high temps.
Click to expand...

I use the same fluid as well, however mine still turned black after a month or so until I changed the res line to Tygon. I don't think there would be any effect on performance as its just above the MC, not going through the whole system. When I bled my brakes with the res black it is still clear at the caliper. But I agree, it does look foul on such a beautiful bike.
 

Similar threads

R
V4 brake burning
Replies
10
Views
408
Paul G
P
Vicati
For Sale Panigale 1299s and Panigale 959 Full bolt ons
Replies
11
Views
764
Vicati
Vicati
M
For Sale 2012 - 1199 Panigale S Tricolore w/ upgrades- $13,999
Replies
1
Views
456
wildman
W
R
Rear brake, hub and swingarm very hot
2
Replies
22
Views
842
Astral11
Astral11
S
For Sale 2016 Panigale 1299
Replies
3
Views
681
SickDuc
S

Register CTA

Register on Ducati Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions

Back
Top